Philippa Charrier is a property developer, author and "mum on a mission" committed to helping the next generation thrive: in body, brain, and beyond.

With a background in architecture, Philippa founded FAT Properties to rethink the way we house students, through spaces intentionally created to support their wellbeing and success. Her first book, Designed for Wellbeing, explored how our built environments can either deplete or nourish mental health, and why wellbeing must be at the heart of how we design where students live and learn.

But bricks and mortar were only part of the puzzle. After years of working closely with students and witnessing the rising tide of anxiety, exhaustion, and disengagement, Philippa saw the need for a new kind of intervention.

Her second book, Student Thrive Mode, is a science-backed guide to taking control of your health, energy, and mindset at university. It offers simple, practical tools based on six core pillars, Mind, Breathe, Move, Fuel, Connect, and Sleep, to help students break out of survival mode and truly thrive.

Today, Philippa leads the Thrive Mode Movement, working with parents, universities, and student communities to shift the conversation around mental health from crisis to prevention, and from coping to thriving.

Philippa is changing the student wellbeing narrative through design, education, and disruptive truth-telling.

In this session, Philippa outlines:

• The real roots of the student mental health crisis – why anxiety, burnout, and disengagement are rising, and how current systems are failing to address the whole picture.

• The power of prevention over prescription – exploring lifestyle-first solutions grounded in science and backed by the 6 Thrive Pillars: Mind, Breathe, Move, Fuel, Connect, and Sleep.

• Why collective responsibility is the key to change – a call to action for universities, parents, landlords, medics, and students to work together to build a culture where thriving is the norm, not the exception.